After winning the first two games of the series the Tigers have now improve to 9-2 against the Twins on the season. More importantly the Tigers have picked up two games on the Cleveland Indians and currently trail them by 5.5 games.

The Twins are playing for pride and experience at this point of the season and come in looking to snap a six game losing streak. Jose Berrios is a promising young pitcher, but he has heavily struggled this season. On May 16, Berrios allowed seven earned runs over two-third innings against Detroit. On the season opponents are hitting .328 against him and .423 at home. The opposing teams have score five runs or more in seven of the eight starts that Berrios has made this season.

The Tigers will be starting Daniel Norris who has a 2.93 ERA over his last three starts. Although Norris has pitched solid he has not yet gone past 5 1/3 inning in any of his starts and has not picked up a victory since June 29. Detroit is 2-4 overall in games that Norris has started this season.

Once again the value is very good for the Tigers as a favorite. At the moment Norris has been pitching better than Berrios, the Tigers are playing better than the Twins and the Tigers are the better team. On some boards the Twins are actually favorites at the moment. I am taking the Detroit Tigers money line -111 to sweep. I am also making a play on the Tigers over 4.5 runs (-135).

Yesterday I decided to stay away from the Tigers-Twins game, but went 4-0 overall on the MLB picks, which was well overdue.

Last night, Anibal Sanchez picked up only his second win in his last 16 starts and the Tigers defeated the Twins 8-3. Tonight the Tigers need to keep rolling as they find themselves 6.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central and three games out of a wild card spot.

Minnesota will start Tyler Duffey, who has had good past success against Detroit. In three career starts, Duffey is 2-1 against Detroit with an ERA of 1.93. His last start against the Tigers was a 4-1 loss on April 30, even though three of the four runs that Duffey allowed were unearned.

Despite good past history against the Tigers, overall Duffey has struggle most of the season. At home Duffey is 4-4 with a 6.67 ERA and 4-7 with a 8.03 ERA during night games.

Tigers starter Matt Boyd has seemed to find his groove lately, going a combined 4-0 with a 2.07 ERA average over eight total appearances in July and August.

Detroit is 8-2 against Minnesota this season, and find themselves as a narrow -106 favorite. Minnesota is 8-20, against the money line as a home underdog of +100 to +125 this season.

I am going with the Tigers -106 to win this game.. Both Boyd and Duffey’s last three starts have gone under and at 9.5 and I am currently leaning toward the under as well. But my recommend play for now is the Tigers to win.

The Cincinnati Reds have won the last seven games that Daniel Straily has started, over this stretch Straily has a 2.25 earned run average and he has not allowed more than two runs in any of this starts.

The Rangers plan to start Derek Holland who has been on the disabled list since June 22 . Holland allowed five earned runs over ten innings in triple-A while rehabbing.

Despite being in first place, the Rangers are only 22-26 against teams with losing records this season, while the Reds are 21-14 since the all-star break.
I like the Reds to win here. Currently the Reds value has continued to improve as they find themselves an +107 underdog.

For my second underdog pick of the day we head to Tampa Bay where the Rays currently find themselves as -120 favorites heading into tonight’s match-up against the Red Sox.

Rays starter Chris Archer has had tough luck at home this season where he is 3-8 despite having a very good 2.66 earned run average. The Red Sox however, have owed Archer up to this point in his career. Archer is 1-9 with a 5.82 ERA in his career against Boston and has lost his last nine decision to the Red Sox. Archer’s Red Sox struggles are not far behind him as, Archer is 0-3 with a 8.10 ERA against Boston in three starts this season. Chris Archer is also 1-11 against the money line against teams with winning records this season.

Boston starter Clay Buchholz comes in with a 1-2 record and 5.46 ERA on the road this season, but is coming off of a solid start in his last outing against Detroit. In Buchholz’s career, he is 8-7 with a 2.63 ERA against the Rays.

Buchholz has been shaky this season, and the Red Sox have dropped six out of his last seven starts. The Red Sox however are playing well overall coming in as winners in nine of their last 11 games.

Buchholz is tough to trust, but he has been decent lately. I think Chris Archer’s losing ways against Boston continue. I am going with the Red Sox +111

The Detroit Tigers are currently the hottest team in baseball coming off of two surprising sweeps over the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros. The Tigers are 6-4 against the White Sox this season and are looking to continue to climb in the American League Central. The Tigers are currently comfortable favorites everywhere, with some book markers showing them as the -160 favorite. As much as I still love the Tigers in the Central, I recommend staying away from them tonight at those odds.

Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez is 2-5 when starting against the White Sox with 5.47 ERA in his career. Sanchez went 0-3 and posted a 8.41 ERA in the month of July and the Tigers have dropped the last 11 games that he has started. Current White Sox hitters also have killed Sanchez in his career, coming in with a career .369 batting average and 9-1-1 (.911 OPS) against Sanchez in a healthy sample size of 157 at bats.

On the other side, Chicago starter James Shields has seemed to turn things around. Despite a 2-3 July record, Shields posted a 1.78 ERA and has allowed two earned runs or less in six consecutive starts. This includes a 2-1 loss to the Tigers on July 21.

The Tigers are on fire and a sexy team for bettors to ride right now, but at +140, the value is on the side of Chicago. I am betting against Anibal Sanchez and taking my chance with the White Sox +140 money line as my ”Dog of the Day.”

The Rangers head into Baltimore tonight with momentum and an improved roster. Texas has won seven of its last nine games, while the Orioles have dropped five of their last six games.
The Orioles will send out rookie Dylan Bundy for only his fourth career start. Bundy has pitched a total four scoreless innings over two relief appearances against the Rangers this season, but the Rangers will have some extra muscle in the line-up this time around. The Rangers were winners at the trading deadline by adding Jonathan Lucroy (.299, 13 homers, 50 RBI) and Carlos Beltran (.309, 22 homers, 64 RBI), who are both expected to make their Texas debuts tonight.
Yu Darvish has been solid in his six starts this season, not allowing more than three earned runs in any of his appearances.
The Rangers are 13-11 against the AL East this season. The Orioles are only 8-15 against the AL West including 1-3 against Texas. I expect Texas to improve their record against Baltimore to 4-1 on the season with a win tonight. I am taking the Rangers -115 moneyline.

Astros starter Lance McCullers has allowed only one earned run in five of his last six starts. Over these last six starts McCullers has 50 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched.
Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey has struggled recently. Over his last three starts, Dickey has allowed 17 earned runs over 14 2/3 innings. Astros hitters also come in to tonight with a lifetime .337 batting average and .895 OPS against Dickey in 98 career at bats. I like the Astros -155 moneyline here to defeat the Blue Jays for the second night in a row.